Why was there a revolution in
1911?
The 1911 Xinhai Revolution in China was the result of a
popular uprising that ended the Qing Dynasty. As one examines this question, it
is hard to ignore the immediate similarities in the result of the revolution in
China to the 1917 revolution in Russia. The comparisons begin when the
revolution in China overthrows their monarchist government similar to the
forced abdication of Tsar Nicholas. Additionally, both of these revolutions
were the catalysts for a civil war shortly after. However, a slight difference
that can be seen is that the Xinhai revolution was led by the peasant
population while the Russian revolution was fought by the working class
otherwise the two are identical. As one would analyse the small difference
between the revolutions, they would have to consider what led the peasant
population to their dissatisfaction. These stimulants were foreign
intervention, increased corruption, and lack of governmental
action/unsuccessful reforms.
Firstly, a stimulant for the Xinhai Revolution was the
increasing foreign intervention in China. Before the 19th century, Western
involvement in China was very limited and this limitation was soon erased after
the discovery of opium. Shortly after 1815, American and British companies
began smuggling the drug into China resulting in an addition problem for a
large amount of the population. This not only caused a serious addiction
epidemic but the lack of sovereignty was a new feeling for China, leaving them
powerless as they had no control over what was occuring. At first, China
tolerated the importation of Opium because it increased indirect taxes on
Chinese goods, ultimately increasing the European demand for Chinese goods.
However, soon their control and tolerance diminished as demand for Opium grew
and took over the stability of society. The addiction that the population
suffered to the narcotic was blamed on the Qing dynasty which increased their
negative feelings towards them; in an attempt to end the first Opium War of
1839 a treaty was made between Britain and China in order to discontinue opium
trade. It was the beginning of the series of agreements that are called unequal
treaties as China believes that Britain had no obligations in return for
receiving Hong Kong, a ‘reasonable’ tariff on Chinese goods, and an indemnity.
Also, as the reputation of the once dominant Qing Dynasty began to depreciate
in 1900 the Boxer Rebellion was an anti-foreign occupation, well-supported
peasant uprising which was the result of the unequal treaties. Ultimately, the
Boxer Rebellion was the strongest attempt in saving their sovereignty but it
failed by the military cooperation of multiple countries.
Furthermore, the increased corruption in China resulted in
increased levels of hatred against the Qing Dynasty and warranting the peasants
to form a rebellion. Corruption in China today is not a new issue, as it dates
back to the 19th century. As the corruption were high enough to begin affecting
the peasant population and forcing the government to provide additional income
as a bribe to lead the corrupt officials against corruption. This additional
income led to governmental financial struggles, resulting in an increased tax
rate which angered the population. An increased tax rate means that most of the
working class can manage but the lower class of the population will be
ultimately harmed economically as they can no longer afford a standard living.
The harsh taxing caused immediate revolts within the state as the breakdown of
law and order became inevitable for the government to contain.
Lastly, the final cause for the Xinhai Revolution of 1911
are the unsuccessful reforms of the Qing government. An example of a very
upsetting policy is the Hundred Days Reform, it was a failed 103 day national,
cultural, political, and educational reform movement from 11 June to 21
September 1898. This occurred shortly after the Chinese were defeated in the
Sino-Japanese war in 1894-95, while the purpose for the reform was aimed at
modernizing and bettering the Chinese social system. This reform was their most
notable fail and can be seen as a trigger to the revolution causing the
peasants to be exhausted with the lack of proper response to the country’s
needs. This attempt at pacifying the public was rushed and a form of panic as a
last resort in trying gain the population’s respect. This reform also was the
spark plug for a coup d'etat led by Cixi the empress dowager who was backed by
the military, imprisoning emperor Guangxu. This attack on corruption,
traditional education system, and the army threatened those of the upper class.
This internal coup led to an increased lack of trust and faith in the stability
of the government and didn’t fail to add insult to injury with the poor quality
of infrastructure. With all this going on, the government had failed to address
this as a serious issue, angering the peasant population and stirring a revolt.
All in all, in 1911 the Xinhai revolution consisted of the
accelerated depreciation of the power of the Qing Dynasty. With the help of
foreign intervention, increased corruption within the upper class, and
unsuccessful or poor reforms as an attempt to appease the peasant population.
These factors played an increased role to the start of the revolution.
SAMPLE ESSAY
Why was there a revolution in
1911?
In October of 1911, a group of revolutionaries in the south
of China led a successful revolt against the Qing dynasty, in its place
establishing the Republic of China and abolishing the imperial system. This
historical event would come to be referred to as the Chinese revolution or the
Xinhai revolution. The Chinese populations’ discontent with the intervention of
the west in Chinese affairs, especially Britain, had surfaced once before in
1899 when the anti-foreign, anti-colonial and anti-Christian “Boxers” attempted
to violently overthrow the Qing Dynasty. The failure of this led to the further
weakening of the Qing Dynasty and the Chinese economy as well as the continued
interference of the west, paving the road for a further, stronger rebellion.
Thereby, the reasoning behind the revolution in 1911 can be reduced to three
causes; Foreign Intervention, failed constitutional reforms and weak
governmental rulers.
Leading up to 1911, the Qing dynasty had endured not only
the Boxer revolt in 1899 but also multiple wars with the very European
countries intervening in China during the Chinese revolution of 1911. The two
Opium wars against the western powers, led by Great Britain, resulted in the
loss of Honk Kong. China was forced to open “treaty ports” such as Shanghai for
international trade and China was divided into spheres of influence among the
European powers. After its loss in the Sino-Japanese war, Imperial China was
forced to forfeit even more of its territory, losing Taiwan, Korea and parts of
Manchuria. As the Chinese opinion was disregarded in these negotiations, this,
understandably, spawned a great deal of resentment in the Chinese people. The
Qing Dynasty served as a scapegoat in this situation as their rule was hardly
affected by the western take-over, moreover, the Dynasty had European support
against the incurring revolutions. Though the support aided in upholding the
regime, hatred towards the Manchu among the Chinese population grew.
The Manchu family suffered from this hatred and could not
let it continue. To counteract this, in 1898, China’s emperor introduced new
reforms during the so-called hundred days of reform. These reforms, had they succeeded,
may have led to China becoming a more modern state by introducing new schools
and new colleges as well as removing corrupt government officials. A rebellion
from above, held at court, led by emperor Guangxu’s aunt led to the current
emperor’s imprisonment. His aunt opposed the reforms and they were never
introduced. It is however very simplistic to attribute the cause for the
revolution to the failed building of schools and colleges, had the reforms
passed, it may have delayed the following rebellions by a year or two. The
inherent reason for the revolution in 1911 was the injustice inflicted upon the
Chinese people for the past 3 centuries and during the preceding Ming Dynasty.
Within the massive Chinese population, there would always be those seeking a
more constitutional hierarchy.
Having already highlighted events preceding the 1911
revolution, it is vital to mention the reasoning behind the exact time at which
the revolution started. Pu Yi was the twelfth and last emperor of china from
1908 until his forced abdication in 1912. Pu Yi was born in 1906, meaning he
was 2 years old when he was named emperor. The revolutionaries took advantage
of the political and economic decline China suffered during this time. Even
preceding Pu YI, leadership toward the end of the Manchu Dynasty was weak.
Through the abolishing of the civil service examinations Chinas central power
was weakened, as this gave more political power to Chinese elites who passed
elaborate exams on the Chinese texts originating before the imperial
unification, particularly the “Four books and Five classics” of the Neo
Confucian tradition.
In conclusion it can be said that the 1911 revolution was
only unique in the sense that it succeeded. The social and political situation
in China throughout the 19th century sent china into a downward spiral bound to
end in revolution. The failures of the Qing family in reforms, international
relations and leadership in the decade leading up to the Xinhai revolution merely
gave the Chinese people the necessary justification for their revolt.
SAMPLE ESSAY
Why was there a revolution in China in 1911?
China has always viewed itself as the “middle kingdom” those
that have no need for outsiders and a strong sense of pride. It has existed as
the longest standing civilization to ever be formed, and from its outset had
been ruled by a monarchical system. So why did a civilization that had lasted
for millennia, in relative isolation and stagnation suddenly endure a
revolution that would overthrow the Qing Dynasty that had reigned for hundreds
of years? To answer this question one must first understand the intricacies of
Chinese culture and History. This essay will argue that although centuries of
foreign exploitation in China certainly aided in the start of the Xinhai
Revolution, it was in the end a result of Chinese culture and the inability of
the Qing government to modernize or reform that caused the 1911 revolution.
It is is generally argued that China’s 1911 revolution occurred because of the
presence of foreigners in the country. China had been continually exploited by
western powers during its existence. In 1838 the British forced an opium war on
the Chinese to fund colonial India essentially selling drugs to many Chinese
laborers and crippling the Chinese workforce. Not only this but China had also
been drawn up into legation cities where foreigners had almost complete rule.
Key financial provinces such as Qingdao and Hong Kong were used by Germany,
France, England and Russia for their own economic gain. This was the main
factor in the 1900 Boxer rebellion in which the Chinese Boxers rose up against
the foreign ‘occupiers’. The punishment for the revolt were the severe
imposition of ‘unequal treaty terms’ that carved even more land away from
China, and subsequently the Qing Dynasty. Wang Ke-Weng writer of Modern China
argues this as one of the many reasons for the amplified resentment of
imperialism in China and the subsequent revolution in 1911. In addition to this,
the loss of the 1900 Boxer rebellion against an arguably weaker enemy inspired
no trust in the people for the ruling Qing Dynasty. In fact the people viewed
this as among other things as the continuation of a “Century of Humiliation” by
foreign powers. Paul A. Cohen, author of China Unbound argues that this
oppression by foreign powers was the main reason for the occurrence 1911 Xinhai
revolution. Chinese historians such as Wang Ke-Weng would argue that the
Chinese people instead sustained a culture of self-sufficiency and cultural
superiority, and ergo would never be content with foreign intervention.
The spirit of self-sufficiency had been an omnipotent
presence in China since its creation, it believes it needed no interaction with
outsiders due to its abundance within its borders. This is exemplified by
Ambassador McCartney’s visit to Qinlong ruled China in 1793 to secure a trade
deal between the two nations. McCartney was rejected by the Emperor on the
basis that “[they] lacked no produce within [their] borders” and that they
would not import from “barbarians”. This event is highly important, as it
exemplifies the Chinese philosophy on outside intervention. It presents a
succinct view of the Chinese attitude to foreigners and why the constant
Humiliation of China by foreign powers lit the spark on the powder keg for the
1911 revolution.
The decline of the Qing and the subsequent Xinhai revolution in 1911 from a
western viewpoint can be summarized through an analysis of the faminal issues
in tangent with the inability to modernize China. Mary Wright cites the
September 12th 1911 crop catastrophe that put 3 million people in Central China
at the risk of starvation as one of the causes that caused loss of faith in the
Qing’s ability to properly look after its people. The infamous failure of the
100 days reform in 1898 and the Qing governments lack of capital to reform the
pitiful state of the Chinese railroad system certainly also put a damper in the
people's confidence in their Government.
However it is argued by Professor Joan Judge, a Historian
specializing in China and its cultural nuances that the representation of the
1911 Xinhai Revolution is mired in many western tropes of “Dynastic Decline”
such as failures to modernize. She notes however that through the reading of
Shibao’s text (a cultural parallel to the rebellious nature of the chinese)
that one of the major factors of the Qing Dynasty’s expulsion in 1911 was their
ignorance towards the “People” of China. A key example would be the Nationalisation
of China’s railroads, despite the presence of “numerous railway movements”
pushing for greater local autonomy and preservation of national rights. This is
a key factor to the dissent that culminates in the 1911 revolution, as one of
Sun Yat Sen's Three Principles of the People of which the Revolution is
arguably based off of was “People”.
Already a collapse in the Confucianist philosophy that the people had so long
held dear can be seen. To respect the hierarchy, and to abide by social roles,
this facade was collapsing in front of the Qing Dynasty, as it would with the
Czar in 1917. The people no longer saw the Queen as the “divine majesty”
appointed to this Earth to guide the Chinese people, yet saw her as an
incompetent puppet of the foreigners. However as Judge notes, many of the lower
class citizens were not as impactful as one would think, yet the middle class
were the ones pulling most of the weight. With the 1911 financial crisis in
China the Qing Dynasty came under increasing pressure from the middle classes,
who using “Shibao” journalism spouted passionate rhetoric of the potential
modernisation of China to the people. This would cause many to become
ultimately upset with the Qing and create even more resentment that would erupt
in the 1911 revolution.
In conclusion, the Xinhai revolution in 1911 occured due to
the cultural collapses in the confucionist hierarchy, the cultural spirit of
self-sufficiency in tangent with the Qing dynasty’s inability to modernize
combined with their apathy towards their own people causing unrest and
discontent. In addition to the presence of foreign ‘oppressors’ creating a
second Africa in China. This unrest and resentment created by the collapse of
the Qinq and the presence of foreigners in tangent with cultural factors
created the reasons for the revolution in 1911.
SAMPLE ESSAY
On the 10th October 1911, the Wuchang Uprising began the
Xinhai Revolution that led to the abdication of the final Emperor of the Qing
Dynasty, Puyi, in February 1912. For nearly 300 years, since Hong Taiji became
the first Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, China had been under the control of a
single family, leading to the question of why there was a revolution in 1911,
and as with the Romanov’s what led to their collapse after holding power for so
long? This essay will argue that foreign intervention into China’s politics,
the weakness of the Qing rulers to lose control of the military, and failure of
the reforms were what caused the revolution in 1911.
At the beginning of the 19th Century, the British Empire was
in need of financial gain to continue financing their rule over India, and saw
Qing China, a nation with a population of 400 million, the same size as the
entire British Empire, as a prospective market. Upon realising this, the
western nations began placing pressure on China to open up trade between their
nations. However, since the Chinese were very proud of their ability to be
self-sufficient they were not open to rely on trade with the west and therefore
were only willing to open one port at Kwangtung, which resulted in the west
forcing the Manchu rulers to sign an unequal treaty in 1842, giving the British
control of Shanghai and Hong Kong, and other parts of China to the Russians,
French, and Germans. This led to a division between the foreigners and the
Chinese, thus creating tension that eventually resulted in the Boxer Rebellion
in 1901, where 200 westerners were killed, thus providing them an opportunity
to demand compensation, totalling to around £67 million as well as the right to
place troops in Peking and 11 other major cities within China. The issue with
this, is that it proved that the Manchu rulers were not in control of their own
country and were pawns under the western powers. Ultimately, this inability to
defend themselves against the foreigners resulted in the unequal treaties of
1842, causing the Boxer rebellion in 1901, and finally led to further economic
and political losses, leaving the Qing Dynasty with a bad reputation and little
political power, resulting in the Xinhai revolution in 1911.
Although it can be argued that the 1911 revolution was
caused by foreign intervention into China’s politics, a more instrumental
argument would be the weakness of the Qing emperor. Within China, the Qing
emperor held absolute power, and therefore the country was only able to run
efficiently if their emperor was capable of doing so. However, throughout the
19th century, there was an increasing pattern of incapable Manchu leaders, and
without an able leader, political power could no longer be centralised in
Peking. This became a more prominent issue after the Taiping rebellion between
1850 and 1864, as the Qing emperor created regional armies to overpower the
rebellion, since the Eight Banners had become increasingly weaker and a new
means of defence was necessary. However, the problem that occurred as a result
of creating the regional armies is that they were financed by local money and
obeyed provincial officials. Since the Qing emperors had become increasingly
weaker and was dispersing power to the individual provincial officials, it gave
them such power that they began to surpass that of the Qing emperor. When the
Wuchang uprisings occurred, few provincial officials were willing to counter
the rebellion since it would require financial aid on their behalf and they
were not willing to offer this level of support to their ruler. This ultimately
is what resulted in the 1911 revolution as the Qing emperor had little control
over the regional armies and therefore had no military support against the
Wuchang uprising.
Finally, the fundamental argument that can explain the cause
of the 1911 revolution would be the failure of the reforms that were introduced
during the Qing Dynasty. Such reforms included the Late Qing reform and the
Hundred Days reform, where China attempted to create western style schools, a
new judicial system, and the implementation of a local and regional police
force. However, Empress Dowager Cixi was strongly against the idea of the
reforms, and therefore did not fully support the reformation efforts. As well
as this, China did not have the financial capability to fulfil these plans and
began to heavily rely on the sales of government posts. This is how wealthy
merchants in China began to acquire government roles, which resulted in high
rates of corruption within the government. The high ranking officials would
often receive bribes from the low ranking officials, allowing them to gain
wealth from the government funds. This resulted in increased taxes to support
the reforms, but due to the corruption of the government, this money ended up
in the pockets of the government officials rather than going to modernise China
in industry, economics, and military strength as these reforms had initially
been intended for. The failure of these reforms encapsulated to the people that
the Qing government was corrupt and prioritised self-gain over the interests of
the country. This bitter feeling towards the Qing government can be compared to
the Soviets in Russia, 1917, where overthrowing the provisional government
through a revolution would allow the nation to have peace, or in China, to make
the reforms happen and modernise China to become the nation they were striving
for.
In conclusion, it can be determined that although foreign
intervention and weak leadership were vital to the cause of the 1911
revolution, it was ultimately the failure of the reforms from the corrupt
government that turned the people to support the revolution as a means of
improving China to become the modernised nation that their western invaders
were able to have.
SAMPLE ESSAY
Why was there a revolution in China in 1911?
As a member of the British Commonwealth, I as an Australian
tend to view history from the British perspective: that Western interference
was the best thing that happened to seemingly inferior countries such as China.
However, this is actually not the case at all, as what was achieved by this
interference was the transformation of a self-sufficient empire into a colony
that could be exploited by all manner of western countries. Therefore, this
essay will argue that it was the Western interference in China during the 19th
and 20th Century that led to the Xinhai revolution in 1911.
Western interference in China had begun as far back as the
13th Century. However, it was the British importation of Opium that commenced
the Western exploitation. The Qing dynasty had already had a history with
Opium, since the Portuguese had smuggled it into the country in the early 18th
century. Therefore, when the British East India Company began to trade this
drug for Chinese silk, porcelain and tea in 1773 the Qianlong Emperor knew that
it would have horrible consequences on his country, but could do nothing to
stop it. Soon other countries joined in the trade, such as the US. When the
opium trade began to affect not just the workers, but also the military and
upper-class, the Daoguang Emperor began what is now known as the First Opium
War from 1839 to 1842. This war demonstrated to the Chinese that the Westerners
would never truly respect their empire, since they were willing to go to war
with China over an obvious exploitation of the country, instead of considering
them a potential ally. This also marked the period where China first discovered
that their previous sense of cultural superiority meant that they were not
nearly as advanced as the West, since they did not see the importance of being
considered ‘developed’ and hence were no match for the power of Britain. This
lack of advancement lost them the war. The Treaty of Nanking, the peace treaty
signed on 29th of August 1842, was the first of many so-called ‘Unequal
Treaties’ that China was forced to sign. These ‘Unequal Treaties’ gave the
Western Power privileges in China without being forced under any obligations
themselves. Perhaps a good indication of how Chinese people felt about this is
seen in ancient Chinese poetry. One particular piece is called “Seven Steps
Verse” by Cáozhí, and is based on a younger brother appealing to the older
one’s sense of guilt.
“Lighting the bean stalk to boil the beans,
and of this the beans thus wailed:
“Borne are we of the same root;
should you now burn me with such disregard?””
If it is put in context of China in the 19th Century, the
parallels can be seen. As the younger brother, China believes itself to be
condemned to being ‘boiled’, and appeals to the Western sense of humanity.
However, the sense of disregard does not change, and the ‘Unequal Treaties’
continue. This poem also brings into light the way that the Westerners view the
Chinese. In a French political cartoon entitled “China – the cake of Kings and
Emperors”, the Chinese man in the background looks barbaric and inhuman. This
reflects the view that the West had of China: less than human, and thus a
country that can be exploited without any ethical or moral implications. Both
the disregard demonstrated through the opium wars and ‘Unequal Treaties’, and
the dehumanising way that the west was portraying the Chinese led to growing
resentment of foreign interference and increased sense of nationalism. It is
these that resulted in the people uprising against an empire that had
throughout the 19th Century not been able to deal with increasing Western
interference. Therefore, the opium war is one of the reasons for the 1911
Chinese revolution occurring.
Western interference in China was not without hindrance. As
the amount of ‘Unequal Treaties’ increased and the Western oppression of China
became obvious, the Chinese became increasingly angry. In 1900, this anger
manifested into the Boxer Rebellion. In the late 1890’s, a group called the
Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists (nicknamed by Westerners as the
Boxers due to their methods of training) had begun to attack foreigners and
Chinese Christians, as they blamed them for their poor standards of living and
the famine in their home, the Shandong province. On the 20th of June, 1900,
after these attacks had spread to Beijing, the Boxers began a siege on the
capital’s foreign district. At first hostile to the Boxers due to the
aggressive way that they went about purging the country, the Emperor Dowager
Cixi began to support the efforts of the Boxers when she realised that they
were China’s best hope of removing foreign exploitation. That the Dowager
actually supported the Boxers, a group of peasants who had a very small chance
against the force of Western and foreign arms, really demonstrates how
desperate the Chinese had become to remove those who had humiliated them, exploited
them and treated them unfairly. Unfortunately, the 1900 Boxer rebellion ended
in defeat for the Chinese on the 14th of August, when around 20,000 foreign
troops arrived in Beijing to recuse the foreign hostages and seize control of
the capital once again. This defeat only served in adding to the anger that the
Chinese felt towards Western interference, and allowed the people to become
desperate enough to overthrow an Empire that was failing to evade foreign
exploitation in the 1911 revolution.
However, it was not just Western interference in China that
caused the 1911 revolution. The First Sino-Japanese War may actually have had
more of an impact on the anger of the Chinese towards foreigner and their Empire
than any Western country. In 1876, Japan negotiated a treaty with Korea, a
country previously closed to all insiders except for the ‘superior’ empire of
China. Following an uprising in Korea against King Kojong and Queen Min due to
anger over the signing of this treaty, China intervened in the country to stop
the revolution from being successful by arresting the offending leader. The
actions of both China and Japan in subsequent years led to revolts and unrest
in Korea as well as the 1885 treaty that stated that both interfering countries
would withdraw troops from Korea and send notice to the other if they in any
way needed to send troops back in. However, even with this treaty, agitations
between the countries continued to rise, and both Japan and China entered
troops into Korea. On the 20th of July 1894, Japan seized control of the Korean
government, and China retaliated, beginning the Sino-Japanese War on the 1st of
August 1894. Unfortunately for China, the war ended in defeat with the Chinese
Navy sunk at the bottom of the ocean and China once again humiliated by a
foreign power. This humiliation only grew more profound following the signing
of the Treaty of Shimonoseki on the 17th of April 1895, ending the war and
giving the Japanese power over China. What makes this treaty more impactful to
the Chinese regarding their dislike for the foreigners than the actions of the
Western countries are the similar origins of Japan and China. In the 19th
Century Japan was even more backward a country, and went through a similar
exploitation as China. However, in an effort to make the West see them as
equals, Japan underwent a rapid Westernisation and, when their resources were
deemed not enough to continue developing, became one of the world’s leading
imperialistic countries by the late 19th Century. China, which is
geographically far larger and was not nearly as willing to Westernise, became a
victim of the ambition of Japan. That the Qing Dynasty could not defend the
country from a nation that China once thought of as inferior to their own
caused the people to become increasingly hostile to the Empire, hence being
another reason for the 1911 revolution.
The Xinhai revolution was caused by foreign interference in
China through the Opium Wars, the subsequent Boxer Rebellion and the
Sini-Japanese. All of these events, when seen from the Chinese perspective,
provide evidence for the fact that Western ideals are not always the best, and
that through history one can see the way in which man would treat their fellow
man: with contempt, indifference and greed.
Why was there a revolution in
China in 1911?
Although a lot of parallels can be drawn between the Russian
and the Chinese revolution Lenin would not have approved the one against the
Qing ruler ship as it was spontaneous and not coordinated from above creating
the decisive difference which will be examined. After China had been
isolationist and ruled by the Qing dynasty for 295 years change no longer came
fast enough in the 20th century leading to a revolution which replaced the
monarchy with the Republic of China in 1911. This essay will argue that the
revolution was caused by lacking domestic reforms, the weakening of China’s
position in relation to international powers, spontaneous actions taken by the
Qing leadership.
Due to the fact that China was able to rely on itself for so
long not a lot of change was necessary in the country to sustain a working
community. This meant that living towards the end of the Qing rule was similar
to living at the start of their rule. This was not a problem as long as it was
impossible to compare living standards to any other society however with the
introduction of other powers the Chinese realised that they were far behind
similar to Russia under the Tsar’s rule. 1998 marked the year during which one
of the first major reforms in China was issued by the Guangxu Emperor. These
referred to political and social reforms to occur in the course of 100 days.
Only ten days after these reforms were issued the Dowager Empress, with the help
of soldiers, removed Guangxu from his position and thus reversed all the
reforms. In addition, six reformists are beheaded. This response to reform was
typical to Chinese beliefs as expressed by Confucius who dictated that order
could only be sustained if the powerful are respected and the hierarchy is not
questioned. After being severely pressured by the leaders of the individual
provinces the Qing government finally considers constitutional reforms in 1906.
With this promise standing the Empress can once again relax slightly however
passing away in 1908. After five years a first constitutional cabinet is
finally unveiled. This however fails to fulfil its purpose, being similar to
the Duma’s created in Russia, as it mainly consists of royalty thus proving
useful. Instead of soothing the situation in 1911 however this ignited further
protests as it was not accepted as actual reform causing an uneasy situation in
China. As the government had failed on several occasions to provide reforms the
population was ready to topple the government in order to re- new their country
which by then was far backwards.
While previous to relations with the West China had viewed
itself as the centre of the world this picture crumbled with several
humiliating defeats. The first humiliation occurred in 1842 with Britain’s
introduction of Opium into China. China unable to counter Britain’s strength
was forced to give in, leading to an increased presence of British troops and
trading in China. This was especially humiliating as China had previously not
relied on trade with other nations as they possessed all necessary goods to
sustain the empire however with the introduction China was tied to Britain due
to their control of opium sails. First signs of resistance to the dynasty were
present shortly after this first opium war with the Taiping rebellion which
started in 1951 and developed into a civil war which questioned the Qing’s
heavenly rule for the first time. The next humiliation came with the second
Opium and the following Unequal Treaties. These gave westerners extrajudicial
rights. However, they also meant that opium would be legalised and missionaries
were allowed to enter China. With this series of humiliations, the people no
longer saw the Qing dynasty as their mighty protectors but rather as weak and
submissive to Western powers. The worst of all defeats however came in 1895
when China is defeated by Japan after just seven months of fighting. Similar to
Russia’s defeat to the Japanese the Chinese were unable to grasp how they were
able to lose to people who were supposedly inferior to them. China had always
seen itself as Japan’s cultural and intellectual fathers and yet now they were
defeated by them. This once again lead to unsuccessful uprisings in the form of
the Boxer Rebellion in which were even supported by the Dowager Queen. The
uprising was aimed to free China from the oppressive Western Powers. Far from
succeeding however this uprising was crushed once Western Armies entered the
conflict. The effects of this uprising were that China was forced to pay
reparations which summed up to about 61 billion dollars. Seeing that a once
strong and independent China was humiliated so often and in such a limited time
period resulted in the populations readiness to join a revolution aimed to
overthrow the government and once again create a strong China.
The revolution was however unlike the Russian Revolution
ignited not by a person but rather by and event which caused uncoordinated
uprisings against the power in place. The cause of the series of uprisings
which occurred at the start of May 1911 was the order to nationalise several
privately owned railways. These rail networks had been locally funded and thus
belonged to private donors. The government in Beijing was however in dire need
of money to pay off part of the reparations imposed after the Boxer Rebellion.
In response to the announcement several of the investors called for strikes
which quickly spread throughout provinces. The Qing’s decision to send in the
army to break up strikes only worsened the situation and lead to several
deaths. Thus the army was withdrawn and the several regional governors replaced
to calm down the situation. At this point it was however too late. Large parts
of the army were convinced reformists and when these interacted with adamant
students and workers to from strong coalitions opposing the government. These
groups were forced to react when one of their ammunition storages blew up
resulting in the Double Ten seizure of regional government by revolutionists in
1911. This ignited revolutions in other regions finally resulting in the topple
of the Qing rule. With the return of the revolutionary figure Sun Yixian who
had planned revolution abroad for about 15 years the first provisional
government meeting was held in December 1911. This shows that the actual
revolution was triggered by chance, first the call to nationalise rail
networks, and then the explosion of an ammunition storage forcing
revolutionists to react.
Overall it can be seen that the Chinese Revolution in 1911
was triggered by the lacking reforms, the humiliation of China by foreigners,
and actual events occurring throughout 1911. With the revolution the ruling
Qing dynasty was expelled however the population had to choose between the elected
president Sun Yixian and the self-proclaimed president Yuan Shikai who was
former prime minister.
SAMPLE ESSAY
The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 was the result of a
decades-long decay of the Qing dynasty, made evident by its numerous defeats at
the hands of foreign powers, most notably Britain and Japan, as well as its
antiquated economic system, coupled with incompetent and weak leaders. In some
respects, the 1911 revolution was simply the culmination of century-long
opposition to the Qing dynasty of China, which in itself was not of ethnic Han
stock. This essay will therefore argue that the Xinhai revolution was the
culmination of a decay that had started decades before the revolution itself.
The first reason for the outbreak of the 1911 revolution was
China’s defeats and loss of sovereignty at the hands of foreign power, which
gave the Chinese people the impression that China’s Manchu dynasty was unable
to preserve independence and protect the nation. China’s humiliating defeat
following the First Opium War in 1842 forced them to sign the Treaty of
Nankking – the first of the “unequal treaties”, which humiliated the Chinese
people and decisively damaged China’s power and sovereignty. The Treaty of
Nanking most notably included the cession of Hong Kong and the imposition of a
fixed tariff – China would not regain tariff autonomy until the 1920s. The
Second Opium War heralded yet again another Chinese defeat and the ravaging of
the Chinese capital at Beijing by British and French forces, in which the
Summer Palace was burnt down. Finally, China’s defeat at the hands of the
Japanese in the First Sino-Japanese war of 1894-1985 was a mortal blow to
China’s national pride and sovereignty: China had lost Korea as a tributary
state and regional power in East Asia for the first time in history shifted
from China to Japan. The Manchu defeat sparked unprecedented public outcry in
China, making China’s failure to modernize its military and fend off threats to
its sovereignty evident. Recognizing the importance of China’s foreign defeats
in bringing down the Manchu dynasty is vital; the Chinese people could no
longer put their faith in the Manchu government to protect them from foreign
threats or to guarantee China’s sovereignty to its citizens. China’s series of
defeats were dubbed the “century of humiliation” by the Chinese people and a
concept that is still kept in vivid memory in China today. Parallels can also
be drawn to the fall of the Russian Empire and the rise of the Soviet Union in
its place; the military reversals experienced by the Russians in the
Russo-Japanese war of 1905 and its devastating defeat in WW1 by the Central
Powers, had showed the Russian people that Russia was a backward, rural state
that lagged behind its industrialized rivals. In the same way that Stalin
industrialized the USSR in the Five-Year-Plans, Sun Yat-sen’s “Three
Principles” introduced industrialization and modernization to China. The
devastating and decisive effects China’s military defeats had on the national
consciousness cannot be underestimated – the first Sino-Japanese war incited
anti-foreign sentiment, that particularly culminated in the Boxer Rebellion, in
which the anti-foreign and anti-imperialist Boxers had committed numerous
atrocities against the foreign population of China and following its defeat,
triggered the series of reform movements to renovate the government and
represented the beginnings of revolutionary activities against the Qing
dynasty, which would culminate in the 1911 revolution led by Sun Yat-sen.
Secondly, the Qing dynasty’s failure to reform its military
and economy were key factors for public instability in China, which would
result in the 1911 revolution. China had attempted to reform its military and
economy through the Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1895) and the Hundred
Day’s Reform (1898), but both failed to give China the necessary economic and
military strength to resist foreign aggression in the Opium Wars and the First
Sino-Japanese War. The reforms mainly failed due to the decentralized Qing
government, its waning influence over its regions and the lack of support of
the reforms, particularly by Empress Dowager Cixi, who was vehemently opposed
to the reform movements and maintained absolute control over the Qing court.
Therefore, since China lacked adequate capital, the Qing court relied heavily
on selling government posts to wealthy merchants, and corruption became
extremely prevalent in the Qing government. Hence, Qing officials embezzled
funds from and received bribes from lower officials, and heavy taxes that were
imposed on the Chinese population were used to support the corrupt government,
rather than the reform movements, which sought to modernize China. The same
failure to industrialize and modernize can be seen in Russian history, which
ultimately also brought the Russian Empire’s downfall in 1917; in WW1, Russia’s
enemy, Germany, had 10 factories for every 1 factory that the Russians had.
Germany was technologically, economically and logistically superior to Russia,
which lead to its defeat in WW1 and ultimately, due to the weakened state of
the army, allowed the revolutionaries to depose the Tsar from power and
establish the Provisional Government. In a very similar way, the Qing dynasty
had suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of powers that were far more
industrialized than China: Japan had undergone a significant change by 1895
through the Meiji Reforms, which overhauled its military and allowed for swift
defeat against the outdated Qing armies. Qing China’s failure to reform
therefore lead to great dissatisfaction in China and therefore set the grounds
for the 1911 revolution.
Finally, another reason for the 1911 revolution was the fact
that many overseas Chinese nationals had been educated in Western ways and were
thus willing to overthrow the non-Han Qing dynasty. In 1906, after the Qing
dynasty had abolished imperial examinations, the government established new
schools and encouraged its people to study abroad. Japan was a popular
destination for this new class of Chinese intellectuals, who contributed
immensely to the Xinhai (1911) revolution. Key figures in the Xinhai
revolution, such as Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, Hu Hanmin, Liao Zhongkai, Zhu
Zhixin and Wang Jingwei were all students educated in Japan - a country
that had undergone massive modernization reforms under the Meiji period and was
by then the pre-eminent power in East Asia. By having a new class of
intellectuals educated in the Western style, the revolutionaries were able to
sow widely the idea of overthrowing the Qing government, particularly through
an organization called the Sanhehui, who also infiltrated the Qing military in
1908 and thus undermined the authority of the Qing rulers. This translated into
revolutionary victories in the battle of Changsha in 1911, and the many
following uprisings, which saw many regions declare their independence from the
Qing dynasty and establish revolutionary governments. In contrast to the
failure of the 1905 revolution in Russia, where there were many individual
uprisings, but no intellectual elite or leaders that guided the actions of the
masses, the 1911 revolution saw the coordinated effort of Sun Yat-sen’s
revolutionary army and its foreign intellectual elite undermine the authority
of the Qing and therefore bring collapse to their power. It is therefore
indisputable that a successful revolution requires successful leadership and
revolutionary ideas, as said by Lenin himself: “Without revolutionary theory,
there can be no revolution”.
In conclusion, the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 was not
a sudden occurrence, but a decade-long decay of its authority. Its decisive
defeats in the Opium Wars and the Sino-Japanese war were mostly due to a
failure to reform the antiquated Chinese economy and military, which had no
capability to resist Western dominance. The educated foreign Chinese
intellectuals were brought up with Western ideals and therefore had took the
initiative to effectively reform China, which the Qing court had failed to do
for over half a millennium.
Why was there a revolution in
China in 1911?
When one examines the revolution from China in 1911, one can
immediately identify the parallels with the 1917 revolutions in Russia. Both
ended their monarchies as these were failing to address the needs of the many.
Additionally, both caused a civil war that followed. Yet one important
difference that stands out between these, otherwise hardly distinguishable,
revolutions is that the Russian one was a movement of working class citizens
whilst the Chinese revolution was fought primarily by peasants. Therefore, as
the needs of the working class and peasants are different one must analyse what
issues the Chinese peasants had that caused the 1911 revolution. These include
governmental issues, foreign intervention, and widespread corruption, which had
all negatively affected the life of otherwise peaceful peasants.
The government in china was no longer seen to be in control
by 1911 which negatively affected peasants and warranted the need for a
revolution. After all this was a so called bottom up revolution where peasants
revolted against the highest castes of society toppling the Manchu dynasty.
Many failures were attributed to the dynasty and these created a snowball
effect becoming more and more noticeable. The 100 days’ reform of 1898 was a
failed cultural, political, national, and educational reform program that the
Manchu dynasty had created. It was one of the most notable and epic failures of
the dynasty. The reform aimed to make lives for everyone in China better,
specifically for peasants who would have greatly benefitted through the
improved transport system as this would have allowed them to sell their grain
and crop yields. However, these reforms were cut short by an internal Coup
d’état which further caused there to be a lack of trust and faith in the
leaders of China. Other issues that the dynasty had not addressed was the need
to modernize. China’s infrastructure had been lacking behind and was not ever
addressed properly by the leaders apart from the failed aforementioned reform
which made little to no progress in addressing the needs of their people. The
nationalised railroad system was backwards and the emperors failed to tackle
this issue to any extent which enraged the users of the railway in addition to
those who relied on it for their job-security as without a functioning train
system selling crops at markets in better areas of the country was impossible.
Additionally, the response to the flooding of the Yangtze river in East-China,
which affected peasants through the destruction of countless tonnes of crops,
shows the failure of the regime. The response of the dynasty was to not respond
causing massive outrage as this flood had not only cost the lives of valuable
crops but had also killed 100,000 citizens. Herewith it is evident that due to
the lack of interest in peasant issues and repetitive failures to modernize,
reform, and care for its citizens had created a loss of trust and faith in the
current system warranting the dissolution of this system through revolution, as
occurred in 1911.
Secondly a major cause of the revolution in 1911 is the
involvement of foreign powers in China and the loss of sovereignty China had
felt due to this. This traces back to nearly a decade before the revolution
where in 1815, the Atlantic powers began smuggling opium into China causing a
serious addiction issue for millions of citizens. The trade of opium was
originally allowed by the leaders of China and was later unstoppable. Many who
suffered under the addiction of this narcotic blamed the dynasty for this,
further creating a hostile environment towards the government. A second opium
influx occurred in 1842 which resulted into parts of Chinese territory given to
foreign countries in order to stop the smuggling of the opioid. An example of
this is the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, where the British agreed to stop the Opium
War and therefore received the territory of Hong Kong. After this many other,
so called, unequal treaties were signed and China became diverse with foreign
embassies and stations popping up. In some cities foreign countries had more
power than the dynasty did which further depreciated their reputation. The
state had later sanctioned the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 that fought against the
loss of sovereignty caused by the unequal treaties and occupation by foreign
countries. Whilst the Boxer Rebellion had caused fear amongst foreigners, it
ultimately failed and was defeated by the military cooperation of several
foreign states. This showed weakness and failure of not only the Chinese people
that backed the rebellion but also the government. This embarrassment made the
Chinese people enraged at their leaders. Through this, one is able to identify that
due to the foreign intervention nearly a century prior to the revolution there
was a clear, as previously mentioned, snowball effect. All of the failures and
embarrassments, including the failure of the Boxer rebellion and the loss of
Chinese sovereignty, the government had caused were adding on to, what was once
a snowball, and by 1911 the ball had grown powerful enough to overthrow the
monarchy once and for all.
Lastly, corruption in politics was a key issue that had
caused further hatred towards the dynasty and required the need for peasants to
rebel. The Manchu dynasty was well known for their corruption. Whilst where
ever there is bureaucracy corruption is not far, the levels of corruption in
the Qing dynasty were abnormally high and affected those outside of the
political scene. The corruption committed by governmental officials caused the
dynasty’s members to end up in great financial struggles. Due to this debt the
leaders decided to increase the tax rate nationwide. Basic economics dictates that
the implementation of a tax harms the lowest classes of society. The lowest
income percentiles had felt this tax most extremely. These citizens were mostly
peasants who had a relatively large portion of their income struck by this new
levy. These harsh taxes caused many revolts throughout all of China and looting
and other illegal acts had become common. The breakdown of law and order had
become inevitable. It is evident that due to the implementation of the tax due
to the corruption and debt of the leaders of the country that there was a clear
reason for a bottom up revolution which was first fought by those that were
most affected by these taxes.
To conclude it is evident that there was need for a
revolution in 1911 due to the inability of the Qing dynasty to represent their
peoples. Due to the failure of the dynasty to modernise, sovereignty issues
caused by foreign involvement, and widespread corruption were only a handful of
reasons why the revolution happened yet it is fascinating to note that if the
dynasty had paid attention to the economics of their tax plan this could have
theoretically avoided as the tipping point of the revolution was the increased
taxes.
SAMPLE ESSAY
Why was there a Chinese Revolution in 1911?
The Chinese revolution of 1911 (Xinhai Revolution) is
usually overshadowed by the revolution of 1949, however may be said to be more
important for the overall country of China. The problem with this question is
that it is almost impossible to write about China in a nonbiased perspective without
knowing the language and thus the culture of the country. This problem reoccurs
with each non-English speaking country, however is more prominent in China and
Russia due to their languages being so lexically far and more complex than
English. The answer could clearly be given by stating the revolution was caused
by the Chinese resentment of the foreign imperialists and the Wuchang uprising
where bombs accidentally went off which awoke the other anti-Qing
organizations. This, in hand with Sun Yat-Sen’s and Yuan Shikai’s cooperation
and leadership. However, this revolution, which overthrew the Qing (or Manchu)
Dynasty, was caused due to the weaknesses of China at the time. These being
disunity, lack of freedom, and poor industrialization, which can also be
expressed through Sun Yat-sen’s three principles of the people “(minzu)
nationalism, (minquan) democracy, and (minsheng) livelihood of the people”.
One of the main reasons for the Chinese revolution in 1911
was disunity of the people caused by war, foreign imperialists, language, and
the Qing dynasty itself. Chinas defeat to Japan in 1895 lowered moral for all
of China which was already low due to the Opium war of 1842. These wars leading
to the ‘unequal treaties’ just became a continuation of reducing Chinese
morale, unity, and nationalism and forwarded the concept of “Chinas century of
humiliation” which was created later in 1915 referring to the events between
1839 and 1949. China then being split into regions controlled by different
foreign powers, did not help the peoples spirit and thus unity. This made the
Chinese feel as if their country, with thousands of years of rich history and
accomplishments, would turn into another version of Africa, which was at the
time separated into colonies by the same countries. This furthers the
ideal that the “revolution was against the world to join the world”, as the
Chinese people were not only so separated within themselves but also with the
world, as the colonization of China showed to the people. The Chinese language
varied in the regions of China and thus people from one area would not be able
to understand others. Although this may seem unimportant, this could easily be
the main reason as to why china was so divided. Without clear communication
between one another, and low rates of literacy and education, the Chinese
masses could not speak to one another and develop shared knowledge about their
country. This later on was manipulated by rulers and could also be a reason as
to why China was so easy to separate from the foreigners that were dividing
china -as they did not understand them and thus didn’t see them as personified
as they would if they did-. The people of China needed to be unified through
nationalism which was lacking and Sun Yat-sen later tried to improve this
unlike the dynasty. The dynasty also had the problem of originating in Mongolia
as well as China, thus not having the same ideals and impact of nationalism as
an only Chinese dynasty. The dynasty also focused on Confucian values which
were limiting in freedom and thus the people of China called for democracy.
The Qing Dynasty took away many freedoms of the people and
it was another cause of the revolution. The Confucian values of “the mandate of
heaven”, being content with whatever one has, no oppositions to power, and
respect to the hierarchy, in relation to the western world made the Chinese
search for democracy and freedom. The ideals of unlimited obedience were doomed
to fall apart once the people gained an understanding of human rights which
resonated throughout the more educated people of China during 1911. This could
be compared to the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II in Germany at the time where he
also used conservative ideals which caused society to resent his rule and resulted
in his abdication. The people of China wanted an elected government such as in
the 1905 Russian revolution, due to the its treatment throughout the years and
the growth of westernization. There was also a lack of action from the
government, causing unsuccessful reforms such as the abolishing of civil
service exams. This was in order to resolve social and economic crisis, however
it only fuelled the public resentment more for the Qing dynasty. This freedom
of the people was also including how many people could not roam freely across
the country in general as there was no great way of transportation or
livelihood of the people.
Thus, the people of China wanted livelihood and this was yet
another cause of the revolution in 1911. Even after the Hundred Days of Reforms
(1898) in China, after seeing japan advance in their industrialization (the
Meiji Restoration of 1868) made china want to modernize as well, especially the
more educated Chinese people saw japan as a role model in industrialization.
However, the 100 days of reforms failed with the Qing Dynasty and showed the
people that there would need to be a leadership change in order to make
developments. The government was also attempting to fix the loss of money and
increased corruption from the Qing dynasty by instating harsh taxes. This then
caused smaller revolts and people avoiding to pay the taxes. The Qing dynasty
especially lost a lot of money from the Taiping Rebellion which lasted over 20
years from 1850-1871 and costed over 20 million lives, and the Second Opium War
in 1865.
The Xinhai revolution caused China to end years of dynasties
and traditions and ultimetly deciphered the fate of China. This revolution,
caused and then resolved by the principles of the people nationalism,
democracy, and livelihood of the people, created, in a way, a new China and
lead to the warlord era. This revolution, having clear parallels with Russia in
1905 (Lenin to Sun Yat-sen and April thesis to principles of the people), could
show the rise to communism and how certain economic and social standards may
ultimately lead to it. This revolution also led to the industrialisation of
China and without it, it would not be the leading country it is today.
SAMPLE ESSAY
Failure of the Xinhai Revolution
Why did the revolution of 1911 fail?
The sudden discovery of a bomb plot in Wuhan in October 1911 that initiated the
rebellion forced the abdication of the emperor and established the Republic of
China, historically accentuates that the significance of the revolution lies
beyond the change in form of government, as it was unclear at the time and has
remained troubled and contested in the hundred years since. It is therefore
important to recognize that, as the respected historian Edwin J Dingle claimed,
“the story of the Great Chinese Revolution of 1911-1912 will probably be never
told fully or accurately”. The nature of the question leads to the fundamental
misperception that the Xinhai revolution was a failure, when it was rather that
not all revolutionary aims such as economic and industrial modernization,
stability and equality or the end to foreign intervention were fully achieved.
One could argue that the 1911 revolution laid the groundwork for the revolution
of 1949 that fully changed China in all shape and forms. Therefore, this essay
will examine the aims of the revolution and assess whether these were achieved,
leading to victory, or these were not achieved, leading to failure.
The fundamental principle of the revolution was to install one central government,
however the fall of the Qing dynasty left a power vacuum that was taken
advantage by ruthless warlords that controlled their territories without any
recognition to the nationalistic government, which simultaneously triggered the
failure of the revolution and led to the Warlord Area (1916-1927). In the north
of China the Beiyang Army commander Yuan Shikai emerged as the strongman of the
Chinese Revolution, the only leader with enough military clout to force out the
Qing. In the south, nationalists led by Sun Yixian formed a provisional
government with some legitimacy but no means of enforcing it. Shikai’s control
of the military gave him a pathway to the national presidency, though he had
little interest in republicanism. Shikai represented more of the old regime
than the new, however his command over the military held China together and
allowed for the continuation of the national government. While Shikai sat in
the president’s chair, provincial warlords did little to challenge his
government, fearing military retaliation. The Japanese sphere of influence
extended from Manchuria to other parts of China. At the beginning of the
revolution, the Japanese gave a loan in forms of weapons to the Manchu
government, securing their control of Manchuria and its neighboring parts.
During the Warlord Era a national government continued in Beijing, however it
did was not representative and exerted no national control. The Beiyang
government, as it was known, presented as a civilian parliamentary government,
though in reality it was a front for the dominant warlord or warlord faction in
Beijing. Control of the capital was a financial bonanza for warlords. The
Beiyang government, despite its illegitimacy, was still recognized by foreign
powers. Especially Japanese foreign merchants continued to make massive
payments for duties and import taxes, money that went to local warlords, who
prioritized their greed for materialistic values over its citizens
wellbeing. This revenue made Beijing and its surrounds a rich prize for
competing warlord factions, who warred constantly over the capital. In 1920 the
Zhili and Anhui cliques fought a brief but bloody war over Beijing, the Zhili
warlords emerging victorious. In mid-1922 the Zhili faction defended Beijing
from an attempted takeover by the northern Fengtian clique. The Fengtian
warlords, led by Zhang Zuolin, reassembled and returned in September 1924,
expelling the Zhili and seizing control of the Beiyang government. These
constant struggles made the Beiyang government changeable and unstable: it had
seven different heads of state and more than two dozen different ministries
between 1916 and 1928. This constant quarrel over territory through the
warlords increased internal disputes about Chinese governance, and further
separated cities from each other, encouraging isolationism and not a national
government as foreseen by the revolution. Foreign dominance over China also
increased, destabilizing Chinese independence, thus a failure of the
revolution.
Another reason for the failure of Xinhai revolution could be attributed to the
people’s illiteracy. China had more than 50 different languages at the collapse
of the Qing dynasty. The nation did not have one single national language nor a
proper educational system that could teach the proper sounds of any of the
languages. Illiteracy was around 95%. There was simple to no communication
between the warlords of each region and the Chinese people. Not until 1913 did
the revolutionaries agree on establishing a common language, Guoyu, and
Mandarin was set the provisory standard language. However, the political
disunity of communist China through the authoritarian rule prevented any
financial influx towards the modernization of the regional educational systems.
China, for the great parts, consisted of the peasantry class, who did not fully
understand yet alone were confronted with the political changes to their
country. Therefore, the revolution was ineffective in 1911 as it only saw
support from businessmen and intellectuals who appreciated the aims behind the
revolt. The representatives of the revolution were radical students,
intellectuals and anti-Manchu elites that named themselves Tongmenghui.
The doctrine of the revolution was found in Sun Yat Sen’s the Three Principles
of The People which, one could argue, was successfully implemented by the
revolution. A fundamental component of the principle was liberty and equality.
Before the revolution the ethnic Manchu’s were seen as a higher class than any
other ethnicity. After the revolution however all men of every native ethnic
faction were regarded as equal. Similarly, the large-scale emancipation of the
mind brought a series of changes to the people’s moral outlooks and habits.
This stirred the extraction of old-fashioned ideas and the Chinese mentality of
autocracy. The injections of new impetus and economic vitality played a
profound role in improving Chinas standards at that time. The people welcomed
economic development. The revolutionaries sought to improve public livelihoods
and soon after the establishment of the provisional government in Nanjing,
China’s economic development entered an unprecedented booming period. The
modern industry in the early period of the Republic of China outperformed the
industry developed by the Qing Dynasty for several decades in terms such as
volume, scale and scope. This helped create significant conditions for future
social and economic development. The First World War brought a great demand for
China’s products, especially weapons and machinery were exported in a large
quantity. This economic development, was in view of many, not possible without
the revolution that set the ground stones for economic prosperity and vitality.
To conclude, one has to recognize that although some factors may lead to the
assumption that the revolution failed, the Chinese created a united nation, a
great step forward in the development of Chinese history. However, at closer
examination it becomes apparent that the aims of the revolution, such as
central governance could not be achieved as China was yet ruled by ruthless and
egoistic leaders that did not look out for individuals, but rather their own
interest. As China consisted of mostly the peasantry class, the
illiteracy misguided the Chinese people to not fully participate in the
revolution as it was pursued by the elitist of the Chinese
community.
Why was there a revolution in
1911?
The Chinese Dynasty and its traditions lasted for 1.7
million years and avoided contact with other nations and was largely isolated.
Eventually more and more people wanted to modernize China which led to the
Collapse of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing dynasty collapsed because of three main
factors; foreign intervention, a lack of government action and unsuccessful
policies and increased corruption which caused a significant loss of money for
the Manchu dynasty. To analyze this question one must start at the end and
clarify the events of 1911 and how thus caused a revolution.
Foreign Intervention played a major part why there was a
revolution in 1911. For example, Britain began to illegally export opium from
India to China in the 1820s. This caused widespread addiction in China
resulting in social and economic disruption. In 1939 China therefore, shut down
its drug trafficking racket and confiscated its dope. He arrested 1700 dealers
and seized the crates of the drug already in Chinese harbors and even on ships
at sea. Eventually a full scale expeditionary force of 44 British ships
launched an invasion of Canton and attacked Chinese troops. They occupied
Shanghai seizing tax-collection barges, strangling the Qing government
finances. Finally, Qing sued for peace in 1842 which resulted in the Treaty of
Nanjing which stipulated that Hong Kong would become a British territory, and
that China would be forced to establish five treaty ports in which British
traders could trade anything they wanted with anybody they wanted to. This led
to the second Opium where the British demanded to end the ban on selling opium.
Britain and China went to war again but Chinese forces were in no position to
fight back. This caused the Taiping Rebellion which was a peasant uprising
which was about to seize Beijing. Another factor of major disruption within the
country was the ‘Open Door Policy’ in 1899 imposed by the American which
allowed foreigners to freely trade with China. This let a lot of foreign
influences into the country which weakend social solidarity because people
wanted to modernize China more. With foreigners entering the country these
people were able to help the Xinhai, such as the American Homer Lea who because
Sun Yat-sen’s closest foreign advisor in 1910 and supported military ambitions.
After all, this caused a lot of instability within the country and weakened the
Dynasty as an authority and forced China to modernize.
The weak government also caused the revolution in 1911. On
the one hand the empress Cixi was trying to modernize China by setting new
apartments up to oversee the police, commerce, communications, foreign affairs,
education and law. She abandoned the empirical examination system and tried to
establish a new school system. New economic reforms were introduced and social
evils like slavery, foot-binding and opium smoking were banned. These new
policies, which were set up in 1905, seemed all very radical and futuristic for
China but really were too poorly implemented. They weren’t set up to benefit
the people and to act upon public interests. They were set up to benefit the
ruler so he could control the people better and manage the four classes
(scholars, peasants, artisans and merchants) and collect more taxes of the
them. In 1905, the court abolished the examination system, which had
limited political power to elites who passed elaborate exams on Chinese
classics. Faced with increasing foreign challenges, it worked to modernize its
military. With its central power weakening, the court also attempted a limited
decentralization of power, creating elected assemblies and increasing
provincial self-government. Although the Qing court maintained a degree of
control within China in these years, millions of Chinese living overseas,
especially in Southeast Asia and the Americas, began pressing for either
widespread reform or outright revolution. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao emerged
as leaders of those proposing the creation of a constitutional monarchy. Sun
Yat-sen led the amalgam of groups that together formed the Revolutionary
Alliance or Tongmenghui which eventually led to a national revolt and to an
overthrow of the dynasty in 1911.
Political Corruption also caused the revolution in 1911.
High ranking government officials were accepting bribes from low ranked
government officials, in order for the ow ranked politicians to keep government
money. Increased corruption caused a significant loss of money for the Manchu
dynasty. The government attempted to fix this by instating new, harsh
taxes on their subjects, sparking revolts and leading people to find ways to
avoid paying. This was just another reason to change the constitution and
implement a different system which would modernize China.
Overall, there was a revolution in China because the Qing
dynasty was not able to adapt with all the changes happening around them.
Foreign intervention, the weakness of the government and increased corruption
were major issues affecting the rulers of China. But the biggest factor was the
influence of foreigners which brought different thinkers, different systems and
deals into the country which led to a revolution.
SAMPLE ESSAY
After the revolution in 1911 Sun Yat-sen took power of
China, and declared his three principles of Mínzu (nationalism), Mínquán
(democracy) and Mínshēng (livelihood). It was these principles which led to Sun
Yat-sen’s great successes as the leader, which led to him being declared as the
‘Father of the nation’ in the Republic of China. This essay will argue that
while his idea of removing western imperialists from China showed the tension
against foreigners during this period, which fuelled the Xinhai revolution, it
was mostly due to failures of the Qing government that the revolution took
place.
Sun Yat-sen’s principle of Mínzu mirrored an attitude held
for thousands of years by the Chinese monarchy, which had taken the stance of
independence and isolation. This was ended by the 1842 opium war, which was
imposed onto the Chinese by the British as a means to fund colonialism in
India. This exploitation of the Chinese workforce led to low levels of
productivity, and crippled the Chinese economy. Land had been carved up between
Germany, France, England, Russia and Portugal, including key economic regions
of China, such as the ports of Qingdao and Hong Kong, saw all profits leaving
China at the hands of these foreign imperialists. These marked key moments in
what Mao Tse-Tung would later refer to as ‘the century of humiliation’. Such
humiliation, and weakening of the Chinese economy was the key reason for the
Boxer uprising of 1900, in which foreign nationals were brutally attacked by
so-called Boxers. This led to a series of ‘Unequal treaties’, which took
further land away from China, and into the hands of foreign colonisers. This
could, however, have been the result of the superiority over other nations the
Qing government had held for a long time, and the fact that they were unwilling
to be a part of any treaties led to them being forced to join such unequal
ones. This idea of superiority is shown by a statement made by the emperor that
China would not trade with ‘Barbarians’, which shows the negative view China
had towards outside intervention up until it was forced upon them during the
Opium war. Overall, the negative view toward foreign imperialists was a key
reason for tension in China in the lead up to the 1911 Xinhai revolution.
However, while this is argued as the key reason by many
historians, it ignores the impacts of the many failures of the Qing government
which also led in great part to the revolution. An example of this were the
many unsuccessful reforms put in place, for example the civil service exams.
These were exams undertaken to employ people into positions of bureaucracy,
however they mostly focused on of classics and literary style, rather than
political expertise. This led to many people with very little knowledge of government
taking positions of power, thus weakening the Qing government significantly.
Another issue with the Qing government was the corruption which played a major
role among politicians. In order to raise funds, the Manchu dynasty imposed
very harsh taxes on their subjects, these were naturally very unpopular, and
many people avoided them, there were even significant revolts against them.
This led to a massive loss of funds for the government, and meant that they
were unable to modernise at a significant rate. This included the
transportation system, which had gone without significant reforms in a very
long time. These significant failures by the government led to a lot of
distrust in the Manchu dynasty, and led, to a significant degree, to the
revolution which occurred in 1911
Overall, while the role of imperialist powers in China
played a key role in tensions which led to the 1911 revolution, a complete
focus on them ignores the significant impact of the many failed policies
introduced by the Qing government, which led to great distrust in the
government and was a key reason for its fall.
The Xinhai Revolution also known as the Chinese revolution
of 1911, was a revolution that overthrew China’s last imperial dynasty and
established the republic of China. The revolution consisted of many revolts and
uprisings. The revolution ended with the abdication of the six-year-old Puyi on
February 12, 1912, that marked the end of 2,000 years of imperial rule and the
beginning of China’s early republican era. The revolution arose mainly in
response to the decline of the Qing state, which had proven ineffective in its
efforts to modernize China and confront foreign aggression. This essay will
argue that due to the lack of capable Manchu leaders and without and able
emperor to supervise the officials, political power could no longer be
centralized causing the downfall of the Qing dynasty.
In the Qing dynasty, the Qing emperor held absolute power, this meant that the
administration in Beijing was efficient. However, in the 19th century, the
power of the emperor was questioned by the Taiping Rebellion. In response to
this rebellion, the Qing court permitted the creation of the regional armies in
an attempt to surpass rebellions, especially because the traditional
Eight-Banner forces became weak and useless over the years. Due to the weakness
of the Qing ruler, he was not capable of sustaining political power of his
officials. As the strength of the armies grew, the power of the provincial
officials simultaneously grew which subsequently surpassed the power of the
Qing ruler. Since the Qing ruler had little control over the regional armies,
it meant that he no longer had a strong military support at his command. This
resulted in the success of the Wuchang Uprising and thus, the success of the
Xinhai Revolution. This is comparable to that of Tsar Nicholas II. Nicholas II,
the last tsar of Russia, had neither the qualities or the desire to rule
imperial Russia. He was a weak tsar. Like the Qing ruler, Nicholas also had a
lack of control of his armies. Confronted with some glaring warning signs in
1905 – a humiliating military defeat, a frozen economy, political violence and
an outraged people, Nicholas ignored them all, promising reform but doing so
with no sincerity. When signing the April 1906 Fundamental Laws, he might as
well have signed his own death warrant. He could not have been less like his
father, he was short, shy and was considered hardly intimidating. His
incapability to rule Russia with an iron fist led to his downfall in 1917.
Therefore, it was the inexperience and lack of authority that led to the
revolution of 1911.
However, one must consider that China at the time has 400 million people,
equating to a huge potential market. This was drastically realized by the West
who thus pressurized China to open up trade with the West. Chinese ignorance
and pride in self-sufficiency led to the decision that they did not want to be
dependent on trade. This meant that the Western powers remained discontented
and forced the Manchu rulers to sign unequal treaties in 1842 dictating control
of Hong Kong and Shanghai by British as well as others parts of China by
Russians, French and Germans. Such imperial rule provoked a rising discontent
against the foreigners which lead to the Boxer Rebellion where 200 foreigners
were killed. This presented an excuse for the foreign powers to station troops
in Beijing and 11 other major cities. They demanded huge sums of compensation.
The intervention of Chinese politics by the Western powers was regarded as a
massive humiliation on the Chinese behalf. This depicted the Manchu rulers as
puppets of the Western powers. It was the incompetency of the rulers that
resulted in the terms sates in the unfair treaties, leasing to the Boxer
rebellion, that thus brought about a huge economic loss and political
humiliation for the Qing dynasty. Accordingly, the results of the Qing dynasty
losing their reputation and political power, the anger and humiliation suffered
by the people of China was directed towards the government.
In retrospect, one must consider the reforms in the Late-Qing period such as
the Self-Strengthening Movement as a component of the revolution in 1911. These
Qing reforms were originally directed at modernizing China to advancement in
industry, economies and military strength. Yet the Qing court opposed to
the idea of reform movements. This caused a lack of adequate capital to conduct
the reforms and the Qing court as time progressed, became increasingly
dependent on the sale of government posts to thus enlarge its income. This
caused corruption to be extremely prevalent throughout the government. The
heavy taxes imposed on the people were used to support the corrupt government
instead of directing it to the reform movement. In is clear that without
capitol, one can only conclude that the reforms are rendered to be useless.
Therefore, the failure of the reforms was an indication that the Qing
government was a corrupt power-hungry movement, adhering to their
self-interests as appose to the interests of the people of China. In turn, this
was enough for the people of China to revolutionize and overthrow the Qing
dynasty so that China can modernize.
In conclusion, it was the lack of authority and inability to modernize China
that lead to the Xinhai revolution of 1911. Despite of the presence of Western
powers and their humiliation of the Chinese government, a stronger dynasty
would have been able to hold off the influence of the West and thus sustained
power and minimize internal corruption
